Jaune's Dirty Secret
by HailToTheDock
Summary: Jaune always wanted to be a hunter, the problem was that his real skill always lacked and kept him from getting in. After failing at getting into any school, he decides to take the hand of a man with orange hair and a top hat. What he never expected was to meet a cruel yet cute girl named Neo.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, so I wanted to do a fresh start so yeah… New account, new revision. Hope yall can enjoy.**

Jaune Arc, tall, handsome, smart, these were things he considered himself to be, well him and his mother. One thing however he always wanted to be but never got the chance was to be a hunter. Something about the idea of a heroic figure in his family other than his sisters gave him a dream, and after a long wait of practicing he was finally going to be able to tryout, tryout for Beacon Academy. Now Jaune didn't actually go to any prior schools but thanks to his family's connection he was given one opportunity.

After months of training, hardwork and dedication… Jaune, failed. He barely passed the test and even then he still failed the physical. With no cash on him and too prideful to go back home a failure, Jaune was desperate. Then he met a man with a top hat, orange hair, and a cane. This man's name was Roman Torchwick.

"Now you promise you can get me into this school?"

"Of course ya idiot, as long as you stick to our deal." Roman smirked, his sly smile gave Jaune comfort while making feel uneasy.

"You promise I can get into this sch-" before Jaune could finish his sentence he was pushed out of the door by two men in weird white mask. And just like that Jaune was left alone until Roman gave him a call.

It was the very next day, Jaune couldn't get any sleep that night waiting for the call. He looked around his hotel knowing it would be the last day he could sleep on a comfy bed.

Finally after what felt like an eternity of waiting his scroll vibrated on the nightstand.

 **Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!**

Jaune waited for the ringing to buzz for the fourth time, then he picked up the scroll.

"Hello?"

"Jauney boy! Its me, Roman. Listen about your school, I have all the papers set up, just come down to the docks and we can get you ready for school."

"Got it."

Jaune hanged up and grabbed his stuff, he was ready to start school.

 **A/N: This was really just a tid bit, kinda test the waters. See how it is going.**


	2. Chapter 2: Jaune's Sour Cream

The docs were cold, walking into the old abandon warehouse Jaune was greeted by a large group of men in white masks that looked at his direction.

"Um hi?" after a few moments of silence Roman finally entered the main room. "Lads and gents, well mostly gents. I would like to introduce you guys to our newest member! Jaune, come up here and join me for a drink." Roman's booming voice echoed into the room, the workers started getting back to whatever it was that they were doing, ignoring Jaune.

Jaune slowly walked up the steps, entering the office he smelt cream. Roman was sitting at his big desk, his hands behind his head and his feet perched onto his desk.

"Jauney boy, glad you made it here, by the way there are no drinks. Listen on my desk is your key to school. It has everything, profile, classes, schoolmates, all the likes." A file laid on the desk, a small picture of Jaune paper clipped to the front. Picking up the folder Jaune was about to leave the office until, "Oh and before you go I got some news. This is Neo." Roman gestured towards a small girl with a look of pink, brown, and white. "She will be your… Bodyguard, all you have to do is do what she says, listen to her orders, and don't get on her bad side." Roman leaned over his desk towards Jaune, making sure Neo wasn't listening, "She can be a troublesome person so please, stay on her good side."

Jaune looked over Roman's shoulder and made eye contact with the girl named, "Neo". She seemed nice enough, honestly a solid 9/10 in his eyes and was a bit excited to work with a person like her. Once a few seconds of eye contact was made Neo licked her lips flicking switch in Jaune's head and waking him out of his trance.

"Jauney boy did you hear me?" Looking at Roman, Jaune gave a confused look. "You said something?"

Roman sighed, "Jaune, go to that room and you'll find someone who will unlock your aura. He'll also explain said aura." Before Jaune could say a word Roman pushed him closer to the room.

After around 10 minutes Jaune left the room. It was dark and honestly he couldn't remember much of it, all he knew was that he had his aura unlocked, apparently aura is like… Like a forcefield. Kinda like jedi shit with the force, that was really all Jaune could remember, everything else was a blur. A headache started to grow as well.

"Congrats Jauney boy, you are now ready to be a hunter." Roman then grabbed a key and jingled the chain in front of Jaune's face, "Here take this, since you don't have a place to sleep and school doesn't start for another week you can crash at one of my safe houses.

Jaune looked over Roman's shoulder once again to see Neo wink at him. He was never a ladies man, most of his interactions with the opposite sex were mostly from his times with his sisters, this feeling of seeing a girl like her interact with him gave him butterflies. Seeing Roman give him an odd stare Jaune grabbed the key and almost walked out the door when Roman said one last thing, "Aren't you going to ask where the place is located?"

After getting the location, Jaune was off, he felt somewhat happy. He made sure to make a quick stop at his hotel to check out and to collect his things, and like that he made a straight walk towards the safe house.

When Jaune got to about the halfway mark he noticed a girl was following him. Stopping he turned around and walked towards the girl, it was Neo.

"What do you want?" Neo responded with silence, "Are you just gonna follow me?" she nodded. Jaune sighed, brushed his hair back with one hand and started his walk again.

Once he reached the safehouse Jaune was pooped, it was only the middle of the day but Jaune was already out of it. Entering the apartment he was surprised by how well furnished the place was, it was like a 5 star hotel. There was a living room, kitchen, a full bathroom, but only one bedroom. He knew Neo was right behind him and he wasn't fully prepared to share a bed with a girl.

"Look um… Neo was it? Yeah, how about you sleep in the bed and I'll take the couch?" Neo shrugged and went inside the bedroom and locked the door.

Jaune laid down on the couch, his stuff next to him. He checked his scroll for any family updates and saw some pictures of his sisters doing who knows what in who knows where. Rubbing his eyes he fell asleep within a couple of minutes.

Waking up Jaune felt even more tired, what woke him up however was the smell of cream. Getting up he could feel his back groan, the couch was comfy but it wasn't worth sleeping on. Looking around he saw Neo rummaging through the fridge, "If you want I can cook something." She looked at Jaune and simply rolled her eyes while getting back to finding something to eat.

"I'm serious, I might not be the best cook in the world but I did help raise seven sisters, and six of the seven sisters liked my cooking." Neo sighed and sat down on a chair next to the counter. "I'm sure you won't regret this." Jaune tried to boast his skill but really he had no idea what to do. Most of the things he cooked with weren't in the kitchen and the ingredients that were in the fridge were foods that he had never cooked with.

A minute had passed and Jaune finally found something he knew how to cook, steak. "How about steak?" Neo shrugged once again not even looking at Jaune's direction. "Ok, steak it is." and like that he was off cooking.

First he took the two slabs of steak and prepped them, seasoning them with salt and pepper, then he added some oil to a stainless steel pan, and off goes the steaks. After a few minutes the steaks were cooked and all that was left was to let them rest for 10 minutes.

Soon the steaks were done, and boy were they delicious. The seasoning was off a tiny bit but they were still tasty while tender.

"How is it?" Neo shrugged, she might've not said anything but she did show she liked it at the very least.

The meal was done and Neo was back into her room while Jaune relaxed on the couch. The TV didn't have anything he wanted to see and he didn't feel like going back to sleep.

The time was 8:47 PM and Jaune was bored out of his mind. It had been two hours since Neo was outside of her room and he still couldn't find anything to watch. Taking a break he looked at his files that laid on the coffee table in front of him.

 **Jaune Arc.**

 **Age. 17**

 **Gender. Male**

 **Race. White**

 **Height. 6"1**

 **Eye Color. Blue**

 **Hair. Blonde, Short**

While reading the first few lines he felt uneasy, it's not every day that you read a file about you, after just reading the first sentence of the description of his personality Jaune was officially creeped out. "Screw this." he got up and headed towards Neo's door.

 **Knock Knock Knock**

Jaune could hear someone walk closer towards the door, within a few seconds the door flung open. Looking down his eyes met with Neo. "Hey Neo, I was just curious. What did Roman want with me? And also… Well if possible… Could ya tell me how you got all this info about me?" Another sigh came out of her, at this point he was used to it. Looking back up to him she grabbed his scroll and slammed the door. Now this was his turn to sigh, walking back to his couch the door opened. Turning around Jaune saw Neo with his scroll, she tossed it towards him and closed his door.

A few moments later his scroll buzzed, it was a text from an unknown number.

 _Listen idiot, all you need to do is follow my orders. I say, you do. Done. And forget about how we got that info, if you ask again I'll punch your face in._

Jaune winced at the thought of getting beaten up by a small girl but he felt like she could do it. Tossing his scroll onto the coffee table Jaune decided that he was out of it and tried to go back to sleep. It took him longer than last time but eventually he did finally fall asleep.

 **A/N: I feel I kinda rushed this chapter but I am somewhat satisfied. I am going through a cold right now so uploads might be slower. Hope yall enjoyed it.**


	3. Chapter 3: Alcohol Is Never Fun

**A/N: Sorry for taking some time to update, been busy with school and I got sick for a week.**

Waking up Jaune had a minor headache and his eyes were somewhat sore. The first thing he noticed was his shirt was off, sitting up he saw his shirt across the room. He got up so fast he almost jumped off the couch and immediately banged on Neo's door.

"Neo! Open up!" Jaune yelled but she didn't budge, then his scroll buzzed. Running to the coffee table he grabbed the scroll and it popped open. It was a message from Neo.

 _Listen up you idiot, I was ordered to check your body for any scars. I don't know why but Roman asked me to give you a quick look. So stop fucking banging my god damn door you shit or I will shove my umbrella so far up your ass I swear to Mounty Oum you'll wish you were dead. I have a headache and I can't deal with your idiocy._

Jaune sighed, rubbed his eyes, and saw multiple cards of lien on the coffee table. Next to the lien was a note folded in half, opening the note Jaune read:

 _Hey Jauney boy, it's me Roman. So I know you're broke but I thought a little extra cash would help you socialize in the big city._

Jaune picked up the lien and got ready to head out, he was starving and felt like getting some good breakfast. Before he could go his morals got the better of him and he walked up to Neo's room. "Hey Neo, I'm heading out for breakfast… You wanna come or something?" He knew that she would either follow him or tag along since she had to protect him but he wanted an answer first. A little amount of time had passed and Jaune could hear her unlock the door. Out came little Neo, she looked somewhat tired with small bags under her eyes. Heading out the door, they were both ready to go get some grub.

Walking down a couple of blocks Jaune had realized that he was missing the lien. Panicking he started searching wherever it could possibly be, checking pockets, back pockets, pieces of clothing, anything. His panic was subsided due to Neo holding something in front of Jaune, his wallet. Giving Neo a dirty look he grabbed the wallet and put it in his back pocket. "That wasn't funny." she however replied with a simple shrug and a sly smile.

Walking down Jaune saw a diner that looked decent. Entering into the diner he was reminded of his hometown favorite burger place, come to think of it the place might've been a chain restaurant.

Sitting down at a booth a waiter walked up to Jaune and Neo. "Hi my name is LeTasha, if you need anything just call, o'kay?" Jaune smiled and looked at the menu. Again the menu looked really similar to the diner at his home town, he was 80% sure that this place was a chain. Before LeTasha could leave to another table, Jaune got her attention.

"Hey LeTasha, could I get the meat lovers sandwich with a coke?" LeTasha nodded writing something down and looked back up, "Anything else?" Jaune looked a second time to find the dessert section, "Yeah I'll get an apple pie." LeTasha wrote down a few things and looked over towards Neo.

Neo just raised her hand and moved it slightly side to side and LeTasha knew what she wanted. "Alright, well I got everything. Now like I said before, y'all need anything just holler for me." with LeTasha gone and both Jaune and Neo alone he thought maybe he could pry some info of this odd job.

"So Neo, have you been here before?" Neo responded by tilting her hands from up to down. "I see, so is the food here decent?" Neo gave the same gesture with her hand. Not knowing how to continue the conversation Jaune gave up, he knew from past experience thanks to his sisters that she was giving him no answer.

Eventually LeTasha came with the food, as Jaune ate he was now 100% sure that the diner he always goes to was a chain. While his meat lover sandwich was packed with all the fats you could imagine, Neo however had gotten a sundae filled with different types of ice cream. "Hey Neo, how did you meet Roman?" instead of some hand gesture she just gave him the silent treatment. "Alright nice talk." knowing he wasn't going anywhere he finally gave up.

After Jaune and Neo finished their meal he payed the check and they left. Walking down the street, Jaune decided to try doing some sightseeing. Being a kid who lived out in the boonies the city of Vale was like wonderland.

"Neo do you know any good sightseeing places? I've never really visited Vale so I have no idea." walking ahead Neo wave for Jaune to follow him as they strolled down the road. What seemed like an hour of walking he noticed how each block slowly became more ghetto, thuggish looking men talking in dark alleyways, he even was 90% sure he saw a dead body. As the two turned a corner Jaune could hear a loud beat come off a building. "Neo what is this place?" like usual she ignored him.

Entering the building Jaune ears were pounded by techno music. Still following Neo he felt like he was entering a place he wasn't suppose to be in, the smell of alcohol gave him a feeling this was a more grown up location. Even with his doubts he didn't want to deal with whatever would meet him if he were to ditch Neo.

While the lobby was loud the main room was absolutely dreadful, with people jumping up and down and the dj ramping the volume to an eleven Jaune could literally not hear his own thoughts. Being pushed around didn't help either, causing him to lose sight of Neo. Eventually he was pushed to the bar, with a headache he pulled a chair out and sat down. "What would you like?" the bartender spoke, he was dressed in a black suit, red sunglasses, and a black fedora.

"I'm only 17" Jaune never thought about drinking, ever since he was little his parents burned that alcohol is bad in his mind.

"Doesn't matter kid, you with Neo and what she says go." learning this Jaune stood up and looked around for Neo, but due to her small figure he couldn't spot her.

A sigh left his mouth and looked at the menu on a wall. "I'll have… How about you suggest me the best drink for a lightweight?" even with a shitty joke Jaune could feel the awkwardness. The bartender shrugged and started working on a cocktail.

Handing Jaune the cocktail he shrugged and took a sip of the drink. "So what is this drink?"

"Bourbon Mint Iced Tea, it has sugar-" before the bartender could explain what was in the drink Jaune walked off leaving a couple of lien.

"Whatever." Jaune mumbled as he walked through the jumping crowd.

Slowly he started to realize his glass was starting to get empty. Walking back to the bartender he half slammed his glass onto the bar table, "BARTENDER! ANOTHER ONE!" even with his yelling no one even seemed to have noticed him. The bartender gave a low groan and started whipping up another cocktail. Pouring the drink in the glass the bartender made a pay up gesture. Jaune threw the lien on the table and stumbled back into the crowd.

"Asshole."

Stumbling around Jaune looked around again to actually spot Neo, "N… NEO!"

Looking behind her she spotted Jaune, the drunken idiot was waving at her. Realizing how big of a mistake it was to leave that idiot lightweight, seeing the audience he was making by acting like a total drunk. Now she was the one to give a loud sigh and walked up to Jaune giving anyone who gave her weird looks a death stare. Looking up at Jaune Neo sucker punched him, knocking him out.

Next thing Jaune could remember was feeling his head bumping on the ground. A groan left his mouth and he looked up to see Neo carrying him by his foot. "Wha… What happened?" Neo picked up her scroll and showed Jaune a note _You got so drunk I had to sock you to not embarrass me anymore_. All he could say was, "Oh." With that he lowered his head back on the ground and rubbed his eyes.

When Jaune felt somewhat ok he finally got up and started walking. The alcohol in him hadn't fully gotten out of his system but he was still able to walk a straight line.

"So Neo, it's um… Not everyday a girl like you can pull a guy as big as me, you must have quite the muscle." Neo just silently giggled at that statement. "Oh so you do have emotion." in response she gave him a punch. "Ow." picking her scroll she typed in and texted Jaune. _Just because you are making me smile doesn't mean I ain't pissed off of your shit._ Backing up a bit Jaune showed that he had surrendered, "Alright, I get it. No more talking." Neo smiled and started walking again.

Entering the apartment Jaune felt exhausted, his body was done with the day and so was he. Falling down onto the couch he was out in a second.

Neo shaked her head and walked into her room knowing what was planned for tomorrow.

 **A/N: So like I said I took forever and I'm sorry. Honestly I really am trying to get this series done, hopefully next chapter will come out sooner and have more weight but I can't make any promises.**


	4. Hangovers Make Getting Beaten Up Worse

**A/N: Oi yall probably don't remember this fanfic, but after a while I thought why not post a new chapter.**

What is god? What is life? What is meaning? These thoughts went through Jaune's head as he gulped another glass of water with his fried egg. The morning was rough, Neo was locked in her room as always, his eye was black from said locked girl's punch, and the throbbing pain from the hangover wouldn't go away.. Who knew I was such a fucking light weight. Another egg goes down his throat, the taste is as good as usual but it could use some ketchup. Guess another thing he needs to buy, but he's only going to be here for a week or so. Man life sure is complicated. Of course Jaune wouldn't be this down, but the headache and sore face didn't raise his spirit.

 **BANG!** The loud sound came from Neo's room, startled Jaune jumped out of his chair, almost spilling his breakfast. "Neo?" His brain went through some quick ideas of what to happen only to be pushed aside by the loudest voice, "We have to make sure she's ok". Rushing to the door he turned the knob, surprised that the door was unlocked. Opening it up he saw Neo sitting on the bed, the dresser must have fallen. "Neo, you okay?!" Even though he yelled it didn't seem like Neo seemed to care. As he looked around he saw all the mess that was in the room. Cans, tubs of ice cream, silverware, clean cloves throne around. Just what in the world could someone do in 3 days? Then the sound of his scroll went off.

 _I couldn't find my scroll so I kinda tore the place up, not my fault it fell behind the dresser._ For some reason. Oh, so that's why her room was such a mess, but what about the mountain of empty ice cream tubs and cans? Either way it doesn't matter, Jaune looked at the little girl, curled up with her face in her scroll. Is… Is she embarrassed because she accidently made me worried about her? For some reason he could feel a flag being raised, uh oh. "Hey Neo, it's ok about making a mess, ya know? If you want, do you want to go out and get breakfast?" Even though he was half full, he knew Neo hadn't eaten anything all looked behind her at Jaune and nodded, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.

About 15 minutes later she came out, her hair fixed, her simple makeup on, and her usual outfit all on. With a sly smile she gave Jaune a text, _hey, even though what you did was all sweet and all I'm still pretty pissed off from last night._ Jaune still didn't remember a thing about what happened, curious he asked, "What exactly did I do?" Neo gave a sigh and started texting. _Well first you were drunk and fucking around, then you started harrassing some girls, saying how you were a master seducer and what ever. Either way one of them spat on you, then you finally crossed the line by groping me when I wasn't paying attention. Then I socked you so hard that you went down like a log._ As he read the message he could feel the blood going to his head, he… he… he groped her?! What!? The pressure of his disappointed mother was already kicking his head in, but his other head also kicked him for not remembering how it felt. Damn it Jaune, why you have to fuck up in both ways? A hand went to his forehead, not even able to look Neo in the eye, all he could say was, "let's go and eat".

Even though they were eating at some random diner, him having a chicken and bacon sandwich while Neo had a sundae, all he could think about was that text. Listen man, the text means nothing, right now you gotta figure out how to apologize to Neo, you groped her! Then another voice came out, his own mother, I can't believe I raised such a perverted young boy, thank god your sisters knew how to beat you up before you turned 10, who knows what would have happened with you. Of course his mother wouldn't have ever said that in real life, but the idea just pushed more guilt onto himself. Keep it together Jaune, you can figure a way to make up for it!

"So… Neo…. Do you want to do anything in particular?" The question seemed to pop the awkward bubble as Neo looked up at Jaune with a smile. She nodded yes making Jaune feel a sense of accomplishment when really he didn't do much for the self praise. "Is that so? Where exactly do you want to go?" While his curiosity was there, he was just pleased that Neo didn't seem to have any anger towards her. Neo just kept quiet and happily ate her sundae. I guess silence can be an answer.

With that settled, Jaune could then focus more on his lingering headache. Even after eating the eggs, what seemed like a gallon of water, and his sandwich, his hangover wouldn't subside. This being his first time ever getting a hangover, he didn't truly know how to deal with it. All he could do is wait it out, hoping something would pop up that would fix it. At one point he thought of asking Neo for help but when he learned that he groped, the thought went away almost immediately.

Eventually they finished and headed towards wherever Neo wanted to go, with her leading the way and Jaune a foot behind.

At first Jaune thought this would lead to some sort of treat shop, or maybe some clothes. But as the walk became longer, and the streets becoming more deserted, Jaune felt a bit of suspicion creep towards him. Of course he had asked Neo multiple times of what they were going to do, every time he was shot down with silence. Speaking of silence, Jaune couldn't put his finger on why Neo was always silent. Was it a medical reason? Personal? The question started when he would get text messages instead of a vocal answer. Perhaps she just doesn't think of Jaune worthy of being talked to? That idea alone made him want to curl up into a ball, is this the silent treatment that his sisters talked about? No, that would mean she had feelings towards him, and he could tell she had none of that.

With Jaune's head in the sky, he didn't notice that they arrived at their destination until it was right in front of him. A fenced off area that had a small opening in it, what? This was all that came to Jaune's head.

Neo easily went through the hole with her small size but Jaune couldn't fit quite as well, needing to get on his hands and knees to crawl through.

Once he got up he saw Neo sitting in an over large chair with 2 men in white masks greeting him. One was at least a foot taller than Jaune which that alone was amazement seeing that he was 6 feet tall, but he was also very muscular, almost like he was some famous actor or a bodybuilder. The other was carrying his sword and shield Crocea Mors and what looked like a sparring sword. The area around them was a barely built building, with only the foundation and pillars being made.

"What are we doing here Neo?" Neo in response snapped her fingers and the smaller masked man through his weapons at him. Jaune jumped when Crocea Mors hit near his foot, then the masked man gave the sparring sword to the bigger masked man. Jaune had an idea of what was going on but was scared nevertheless.

Then the masked man charged, he was too quick for Jaune to react and a huge smash sent Jaune flying. "Get up! This is your training!" The masked man chanted as he pulled Jaune back up and pushed him farther away. Now finally understanding what was going on, Jaune pulled out his sword and extended his shield, but by the time he did the masked man had already smashed into Jaune again, this time with his sparring sword. The pain shot through his body and he couldn't tell if he broke something or not. "Come on! Get up!" Using his arms to push him up, he could see Neo smiling as she watched him struggle. So she just wanted to see me get beat up, I guess this is a well enough punishment.

Sword and shield in hand, he got into one of the few stances he knew from his father. Though it barely helped when the masked man charged again, this time going for his legs. Jaune jumped back but that just gave the masked man an opening and he took it. Pushing forward, he used his sword to keep his shield busy and punched Jaune in the face. Falling down, Jaune could taste the blood in his mouth. Damn, how the hell am I supposed to win this?

"You leave yourself too open, you reaction is average yet you don't think a single step ahead. You have a sword and shield while I only have this sword, use that as an advantage." While the information sounded easy, it was hard for Jaune to figure out how to put that into practice. Another punch, another fall, another kick, another fall, the cycle kept going with a couple of notes that the masked man gave, most of them being that Jaune was a horrible fighter. Even though Jaune was beaten to a pulp, he got up once again.

"I gotta give you props kid, your aura is huge and you can take a beating." The compliment stung as some blood came out of his mouth. It was 1 AM when they started and it was night when they ended. Jaune's pretty boy face was now black and blue, his clothes dirty, and his legs limping. What was the worst part though was that he was to do that again tomorrow, for 4 days in total and the rest of the week to let him rest for school. His eyesight was poor but he could still see Neo walking with a smile. Do I really deserve this? Jaune was told that this was an order from Roman but he still didn't like how Neo got pleasure from him getting beaten up. Yeah he messed up by groping Neo, but does she really take so much joy in seeing him get hurt?

The long walk didn't help, especially with his hurt leg, how am I supposed to get back to that training with so many injuries? The question kept popping up in his head until he fell over, blacking out.

The next thing he knew he was on a fluffy bed, how did I get here? His pain while sore, was somewhat gone. How long have I been out? Looking to his left he saw Neo watching him. "N… N…" His mouth felt dry and he couldn't really say anything. As he mumbled, Neo got up and brought him a glass of water. Lifting his head to help him drink it. Once he finished the glass of water, a screen was put in his face.

 **I'm sorry for letting you get so beat up. I was still mad at what you did so I let Henry push you to your limits. Tomorrow's training won't be as bad as before. So just rest up on the bed, I'm sleeping on the couch.** And with that Neo left the room, closing the door.

Really, what in the hell did I get myself into?

 **A/N: Ironic how in my last chapter I said I'd try updating more, guess I lied. Well whatever, here is a new chapter so who cares?**


	5. Ice Cream Really Is The Best Medicine

**A/N: I noticed a few spelling mishaps here and there, like me mixing up am with pm, my bad.**

The morning sunshine slowly went over Jaune's eyes. Slowly waking up he could feel minor pain in his body. The smell of ice cream was all Jaune could tell, the taste of blood still lingering in his mouth. Getting up, he could feel his body groaning. He slowly walked to the bathroom surprised that his body was near 100%. Looking in the mirror he could see that all his bruises were gone, his leg didn't even have a limp in it. Man, aura sure is amazing.

Looking at the room, he was reminded just how much a mess this place was. If his mother saw it, she would throw him in the biggest pile with a broom and yell, "Clean it up by dinner!" Leaving the room he noticed, or well saw the lack of Neo. A little note was on the coffee table, **Had a small job to do, once I get back we're heading back to training.** A sigh left as he looked at the note, even if the training isn't as brutal as yesterday, who knows what Jaune will be reduced to… Think positive god damn it.

"Alright! We're gonna have a nice meal and a quick clean!" Even though it might seem like a chore, Jaune felt somewhat at home when he cleaned so it wouldn't be that bad. But first breakfast! Opening the fridge he saw new ingredients, did Neo go shopping? The thought barely went through his mind when he saw Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, a cereal brand he loved when he was a kid. Grabbing a bowl, spoon, milk, and said cereal, he ate a whole bowl within a minute. For some odd reason he was extra hungry today, feeling how the cereal wouldn't fill him, he went and checked what else was in the kitchen.

Finally deciding what he wanted, he took out thick cut bacon and eggs to make a classic style breakfast. Frying the bacon it quickly browned and turned somewhat crispy, he then put it on some paper towels to get rid of some of the grease. Then using the leftover bacon fat, he fried the eggs like usual sunny side up. A little salt and pepper, and boom the quick meal was done. The bacon was juicy and had a sweet crust on it while the eggs were cooked perfectly with the yolk just barely taking form. He finished it off with a glass of milk. He finally felt somewhat full.

Now that breakfast is over, I should do a little bit of cleaning. Of course when he thought this, it was mostly directed to the bedroom. The room was a mess as usual, garbage piles here and there, thrown away clothes, honestly Jaune was still in shock at how much of a mess it was. Though it was a mess, it didn't bother him too much. It could be worse, like when he had to do the family laundry…

Firstly he picked up any garbage he could find, most of them being something related to ice cream. The amount of ice cream related garbage filled a whole garbage bag which shocked Jaune to his core, just how much ice cream does that little girl eat?

Finished with the garbage he went and tidied up the room, making the bed, trying and somewhat failing at getting rid of ice cream stains, and nervously handling Neo's clothes. Seriously what am I supposed to do? Am I even allowed to touch this? Jaune didn't have any bad ideas when it came to Neo's clothes, he really just wanted to clean the room and it was hard with a huge pile of thrown around clothes. Half of his reason was that he needed to clean up and the other half reminded him of what she did when she got mad. After a good debate he finally led to the conclusion that he would treat it as if Neo was his own sister, that way he can go through without a worry… He hoped.

The clothes themselves weren't actually dirty, most of it was just thrown around, probably due to her panic over her scroll. So Jaune did what any normal brother would do with his sisters clothes, fold them and leave anything that would be too touchy touchy alone. Luckily for Jaune, the clothes were solely shirts and pants, most of which were just the same looking clothes. Does she really only wear one outfit? Even Jaune, who was infamous in his family for sticking to one type of clothes was worried about Neo's pick of clothing.

Looking at the clock, he saw it was almost 1 PM and Neo wasn't back. He didn't exactly like Neo, especially how she let Henry beat the ever loving shit out of Jaune, but he couldn't bring himself to hate her. Maybe something bad happened? She said it was a job and if she works for Roman then that has to mean something…. Right? Speaking of which, she is supposed to be his bodyguard so that means she is capable of fighting, but can her little self really beat up a guy like Henry? The image made him laugh, but for some reason he had no doubt about it once he thought about it.

An hour passed of him just relaxing, it seems Neo might actually not come… I hope she's ok… He knew he shouldn't worry about her, she didn't seem to care much for him but he still always cared about people he knew. It didn't help that he knew she was a part of some sort of crime so she must be doing something dangerous… Though Jaune didn't like criminals, he couldn't complain about them since he became an accomplice of one, hell he's living in a criminal's safe house.

The door opened and Jaune looked behind him, there Neo stood. She walked in throwing her umbrella… Parasol? Either way on the chair. Jaune could clearly see some blood on the parasol… Just what did she do?

A sigh came out of Neo as she went into the bedroom, surprised to see it cleaned and her clothes folded on the bed. She quickly looks over at Jaune with a confused look.

"I had nothing to do so I thought about cleaning up… Sorry for touching your clothes but they were everywhere." Jaune rubbed the back of his head while looking down at the floor, only having one glance to see her face. Jaune wasn't fully sure what her face meant but it mostly show confusion rather than anger, so that was a good thing at least.

Neo then walked into the room, closing the door. What felt like hours were only minutes with Jaune anxious to see how she reacts when she sees everything he did in there. Will she be creeped out? Angry? What? He imagined Henry's beatings again and could feel a cold sweat form. Eventually she came out, her clothes the same just less dirty. Walking out her face seemed neutral. Jaune couldn't tell if he should be happy or scared but all he could do was wait to see how his training is today as they both walk out of the apartment and head to the same construction zone.

Henry was definitely less hard on Jaune, his personality was actually quite nice, with him acting more friendly. It kinda made Jaune think that the Henry before was an act to scare Jaune, who knows?

"Listen kid, you keep guarding your upper body but you leave your legs wide open, if I wanted to I could just dash and slash your leg off. Of course your aura is huge so I doubt most monsters would be able to get through it. But if you ever go against someone who can break through that aura of yours, you'll be done for." This was yet another lecture that Henry gave whenever he beat down Jaune. "And another thing, stop hiding behind your shield, you got great defense already so you can take a few hits, try to go on the offensive for once." Even with all the lecturing, Jaune still had problems with putting Henry's advice to practice. He was too used to being on the defensive so the idea of attacking was difficult for him. But this time he would do something different, he has to, he is sick of getting beat by Henry.

They both got into their stance, ready for another match. The difference is that Jaune went strictly to offense, lunging towards Henry with his shield, trying to bash him with it. Henry in response dodged by leaping back, using his sword to parry the slash that Jaune tried to implement in his two part attack. He was wide open again and Henry thrust his sword straight towards his chest. Jaune was expecting this though, redirecting his shield to hit Henry's sword and using an overhead swing. Finally! I'm gonna get a hit! That happiness was abolished when Henry just kicked his shield, sending him flying once again.

"Oh come on! You got too much strength!" Jaune spat the blood in his mouth and looked at Henry straight in the eyes.

"You're gonna be fighting monsters with strength far greater than mine. You're stance was weak which made it easy for me to just kick you away. Though your attack this time was pretty good, better than your usual attacks." Jaune couldn't figure out if that was real praised but he was glad that he was improving somehow. He looked over at Neo who was watching the whole thing with a blank face, she really doesn't care. A sigh came over Jaune as he readied his sword for another duel.

It had been 3 hours of practice that day, with Jaune getting beaten to a pulp once again, though not as bad as before. For instance, he could actually walk. His stomach growled loud as he followed Neo, noticing it she went and headed towards the same chain diner.

The doors opened with a cling from the bell and LeTasha greeting them with another bright smile. "Now what can I get yall? The usual? Oh deary me, what happened to you?" The second her eyes had opened after the greeting she saw Jaune with his beaten face.

"Oh nothing to big, I was training and things got a little rough." LeTasha gave a worrying smile and looked over at Neo. She gave a smile and thumbs up which somehow made LeTasha seem less worried.

"Ok… Well yall can holla me anytime you need something. I'll get your food ready and an ice pack for you Jaune." All he could do was smile at the kindness that LeTasha always seemed to give, she really is kind.

Their food laid out in front of them, Neo with her random sundae and Jaune with his sandwich. They silently ate as usual, with barely much conversation going on. Jaune having a bit of trouble eating as he had one hand on his forehead with a bag of ice.

Once done with the quick meal, they headed towards the apartment. Neo seeming to be in a good mood and Jaune just happy he was able to improve during his training.

The apartment felt stuffy once they entered it, Jaune went and opened a window while Neo headed towards the bedroom, closing the door like usual. I hope she doesn't make a mess again. Then Jaune heard a buzz come from his scroll, **Hey, just wanted to say good job at entertaining me today. Was more interesting when Henry let up on you. Goodnight.** The message was simple yet made Jaune a little happy in a weird way. Like his work was acknowledged even though all he did was get kicked around and sometimes failing at an attack. Maybe he might actually become a proper hunter? The thought made Jaune happy to the core of his heart as he laid on the couch, watching cartoons until he fell asleep.

 **A/N: Wow, I'm honestly surprised I did another chapter in 3 hours… I don't know if that shows my ambition or my lack of talent. Either way here is another chapter out of nowhere.**


	6. Such An Idiot

**A/N: Hey, I'm just gonna say… I'm not really proud of this chapter. The characters seem to be everywhere and I felt like I rushed it. But by the time I actually realized this, I was already 3,000 words in. And I hate just scraping what I thought was a good idea. So if you read this chapter and get confused, I don't blame you. Next chapter I'll put more work into it, this is really just a side project to do to kill time but that doesn't mean I want to write complete garbage. Again my apologies if this chapter is confusing in anyway.**

Honestly at first I didn't know how to react to this new guy. He looked dorky and was obviously not meant for this world, yet he was charming in some way. I can't tell whether it was because of his stupid smile, his unkept hair, or his presence that felt no real hostility. He was like a random little puppy, too innocent for this cruel world that he walked into. Already Neo wasn't sure how to deal with him as his bodyguard but figured she might as well just wing it.

She knew she had to beat him into a proper fight dog, but oddly enough she couldn't imagine him ever being as vicious as others in this world. This alone somewhat scared her, this was the first time she met someone like him. Living in a world filled with drugs, murder, and robbery, Jaune was like a little candle light in the dark world that Neo knew all too well. She still didn't care too much towards him, a light is nice but it won't keep you from getting used to the darkness. For now she just had to watch over him and not let him die somehow.

At the safehouse she noticed him being creeped out by the file of his information. Last thing she needed was him asking question so Neo did the best thing she could do, threaten him. A quick text later and he seemed to have thrown away that curiosity. That'll have to be good for now.

As she was about to get ready for bed, she got a message from Roman, **Hey Neo, I need you to check him for bodily scars. Do it while he is asleep or something, I bet that kid wouldn't let you touch him while he is awake.** A sigh came out as she read that message and waited for a couple of hours, waiting for him to fall into a deep sleep. Once she knew he was in said deep sleep, she quickly pulled off his shirt. Checking his body, she only saw a small scar on his back. After the check she left the apartment, buying a bundle of ice cream using Roman's card that she swiped a while ago.

Waking up to banging wasn't that great, she had a terrible headache after eating 4 tubs of ice cream which in hindsight wasn't her best idea. The constant banging was more than enough for her to snap, but instead of breaking his arms she just sent him another threatening text. That seemed to shut him up.

As Neo laid on her bed she started thinking about Jaune again… He's annoying that's for sure, but for some reason he kept bugging her. Whenever her mind went to Jaune she couldn't help but think how he will eventually be torn apart by the monsters that this stupid city is made up of. Roman sent another message, and Neo was excited when she read it. Soon Jaune knocked on the door again, this time much more light.

"Hey Neo, I'm heading out for breakfast… You wanna come or something?" The awkwardness was easily detected, he probably guessed that I'd tag along anyway so... He's giving me the courtesy of inviting me? Again another moment that made Neo feel a random emotion that she couldn't exactly pin down. Nevertheless she opened the door to see his stupidly weird face and simply walked in front of him, heading out.

They walked down the road to a diner which had pretty good sundaes. The place was a chain popular for its sandwiches and homemade ice cream. As Neo kept the lead she noticed Jaune's wallet was easily out in the open, god he is just helpless. With the annoyance of his oh so innocent self, her speed slowly started to drop as she quickly pick pocketed the wallet. At least I can make fun of him with this.

When they were about a block away from the diner, Jaune panicked looking everywhere. That idiot, revealing the stolen wallet Neo couldn't help but give a sly smirk. Seeing it, he grabbed it with anger in his eyes as he said, "That wasn't funny." Ha, was all Neo could think as she imagined more interesting ways to fuck with him.

LeTasha greeted them with her usual spirit but gave Neo a raised eyebrow once she saw the both of them together. Neo defused the situation immediately with an intense glare and a tight fist aiming at her, the misunderstanding was resolved within seconds.

As they finished their order, Jaune tried what seemed to be his best way of small talk, "So Neo have you been here before?" The question was as innocent as it could get, so she replied with a so-so gesture, tilting her hands up and down. Even with a shut down of an answer, Jaune kept going, "I see, so is the food here decent?" Again, same gesture. That finally shut him up, but for some reason Neo felt odd doing so. Usually her conversations with most people felt dull, they were always talking about business, drugs, or her looks, I guess a different change can feel odd…

Their food had arrived, Jaune's sandwich and apple pie, and Neo's sundae. Seeing the arrival of the food as an opening, Jaune tried once again to try and make small talk, this time bringing up something she could connect to, "Hey Neo, how did you meet Roman?" Instead of amusing him even a little, Neo wanted to just end the conversation, so she just sat their silent.

Once they finished their food and had Jaune pay the check, they started back to the safe house when suddenly Jaune asked, "Neo do you know any good sightseeing places? I've never really visited Vale so I have no idea." Maybe this was an opportunity to give Jaune a glimpse of a shady world. She couldn't just bring him to a drug deal or a gang war but Junior's club was a safe start.

As Jaune followed her, she felt a weird feeling of accomplishment. Roman never told her to whip Jaune into a proper dog, but she didn't want to leave this poor thing to die out. At the very least, if he does die, at least she'll know she gave him the right teaching. Yeah she was just a bodyguard, but this felt like a fun project that gave her a bit more pride. Even with her perfect logic, she couldn't throw off the weird feeling she was getting…

They reached Junior's club and went straight in, his lackeys opening the door, letting her cut the long line. She could see Jaune's eyes dashing left to right, he was out of his comforting fish bowl and right into the ocean. With this she could at least have him see what he got himself into, she just had to show him the right stuff. It would've been easy, have him taste alcohol, make him get comfortable with the wrong crowd, maybe even have him get some confidence… It would've been easy if only one of Junior's lackey went up to her with a nervous look, "Um… Junior needs you… Could you please… Follow me? He said it was urgent." Neo's look was enough to make the man want to shrink into a little insect, but he stood his ground. She respected that little pitiful strength that the man had. She was mad that she couldn't go and teach Jaune what to do, but he could wait 5 minutes without fucking up.

As she entered Junior's private room, the strong smell of alcohol was the first thing she could notice. Junior sat there, on his "high quality" leather couch, drinking what looked to be an empty bottle of rum.

"Neo, hi… Roman was busy but sent me this, told me to give it to you. I was going to actually send someone over later today." He gestured her to sit down, of course she denied the offer. "Either way, here you go. Roman said he was going to do some business and couldn't reach you so I guess I'm the messenger." He put down a small chip which she linked to her scroll. On the chip was a basic report on what he wanted her to do, mess up a nearby gang and steal their dust reserves. Simple enough for her but she didn't understand why she couldn't just rob another store like last time. Without even a hint of any emotions, she left the room and looked for where Jaune was.

She wasn't really confused when she saw Jaune somehow drunk out of his mind, more of anger and annoyance… He really is annoying. And with that she punched him, dropping him to the ground and picking him up, heading out the door. Welp, there goes my plans.

Later she realized that dragging him wasn't the best method, so she picked his unconscious body up and piggy-backed him. While the image of a 4"10 girl piggy-backing a 6" man was odd, it wasn't that hard.

As they walked down the street, Jaune started to wake up. He started to murmur as he slowly looked left to right. Then his hand started to move and he grasped like he was a baby trying to grab on a mother. It was downright embarrassing, but then he grabbed something he shouldn't have. With that Neo decided dragging him was a better method.

A groan slowly came out of Jaune as he fully woke up, Neo stopped and started texting, knowing what he would ask next. "Wha… What happened?" His voice was somewhat shaky, his expression was a mix of confusion and pain. Neo showed him her scroll with the message. She excluded the part of him groping her, the reason is as silly as ever; because that was the first time someone had ever touched her like that.

Neo stopped dragging him to let him figure out his surroundings, once he knew his bearings he looked at her and spout out a stupid joke. It was the type of joke that was just plain bad, yet it made Neo actually laugh in the inside. She just let out a silent giggle to humor him, though her anger about the groping wasn't gone. She quickly tapped on her scroll and showed it to Jaune, seeing it he simply said, "alright, I get it. No more talking." And with that, she started heading back to the safe house.

When they had entered it, Jaune collapsed onto the couch, the alcohol and sucker punch must have worn him out even though it was only around 3PM. If there was one thing, that boy can sleep.

Neo went ahead and closed the door to the bedroom. Looking at her scroll she was ready for what was going to happen tomorrow. She texted Henry telling him exactly what she wanted him to do, Henry didn't protest but he must have been uncomfortable with the orders. And just like that, Neo threw her scroll somewhere and decided to eat more ice cream.

It was the next day and Neo was in a panic, the cause was simple. She lost her scroll. It wasn't here, it wasn't there, it felt like it wasn't anywhere. She threw her random clothes around, then she checked under the bed. She looked in the bathroom and checked under any mess that was around. The only place she didn't look was the dresser, looking through the crack she noticed the outline of her scroll. Without hesitating a single second, she threw the dresser, allowing her to grab her scroll. Within seconds Jaune came bursting through the door with a look of worry.

His face was filled with confusion but when he saw her being ok, he let up like a bright light. For gods knows why this made Neo feel even more embarrassed when she was groped. She curled up a bit while slouching over her scroll, texting Jaune about what happened. She could even feel a hint of red come onto her perfectly white face… Damn this boy, what the fuck is it with him. She was mixed with her emotions, on one half she saw him as a nuisance, a child who had to be looked after, yet the other hand showed he cared even for someone like her. Right now isn't the time to be worrying about this, today was the first day of Jaune's training, and she had to act like she always had.

Still looking at her scroll Jaune simply said, "Hey Neo, it's ok about making a mess, ya know? If you want, do you want to go out and get breakfast?" He seemed to be trying to comfort her, something that she was never used to. The feeling was weird and Neo was disliking it more and more. Finally he left, giving her some time to relax.

That damn kid… What does he know about these things… I'm gonna get back at that kid somehow… Well at least I can use today to let out of steam.

She quickly fixed her makeup, clothes, and hair. Leaving the bedroom she gave him a text. Jaune gave a weird glance as he looked at said text, he then spoke asking what he did wrong. With Jaune taking the bait, she went and wrote off a bunch of this he did while drunk. Of course some of them were half baked lies to get him get him even more guilt ridden, but she still added the groping since it truly did piss her off. His face was bright red as he read the text, she knew she had him. The perfect revenge for all these weird moments that this kid has given her, it was all going how she wanted.

He invited her to breakfast like before, again making her feel off. All she cared about was what she had planned for later on, hopefully this will teach Jaune to just shut up and do what he was told.

As she was digging into her sundae she felt somewhat sad at the idea of Jaune being the silent dog that she wants him to be. Was she actually enjoying someone treating her like a person instead of another tool? Only Roman ever treated her like a person but even then he had his limits. The feeling of having someone who doesn't even seem to know you, yet still caring for you was a mystery for Neo. She still disliked it, it was an alien feeling, something she might never get used to it. But for some reason, she still felt like taking it. Like a free scoop of a bad tasting ice cream cone? Neo still didn't know how to put the feeling that Jaune gave into words. Right now it didn't matter, she had to let off some steam from the so called emotional rollercoaster that she has been going on. Granted she has gone through worse yet this past few days have felt like the most tiresome days of her life.

They both ate their meals in silence when Jaune asked whether she wanted to go somewhere. Seeing the chance to get him over to the training ground, she smiled and nodded. Jaune seemed relieved from just seeing her smile, damn it was all she could think as she felt another wave of emotions hit her heart. This fucking guy…

They finished their meals and headed out. It took them some time to get to the training grounds but the whole time she was just happy that she could stop thinking about Jaune. All she had to do was watch him get beaten up and turned into the silent dog. Neo already knew his inept ability at fighting and she wanted this whole caring guy to just become another pawn in whatever plan they were in. Or did she? Again doubt came over her, she was blowing out the little candle in front of her only to be in complete darkness again. Was that really the best thing? Before she could even answer her own inner thoughts, she realized they were at the place.

She entered the small opening at the gate with ease, Jaune on the other hand seemed to have a bit more trouble fitting in the small space. Quickly Neo went and sat on the chair in the middle of the construction site, Henry and Jack were both at the ready. Before he could say anything, Neo snapped her fingers. Jack through Jaune's weapons and Henry grabbed the sparring sword. And just like that, Jaune's training began.

At first Neo was somewhat pleased, seeing the annoying boy getting beaten to shit. But as the beating kept going on, she felt like stopping it. It wasn't even training at this point, it was just Jaune getting up and being kicked down.

Why was he being so persistent? He shouldn't be getting up anymore, his spirit should be crushed by now, letting him become the trained dog. It didn't take long to break someone, and this was the easiest way to do so. So why was he getting up, with more fire in his eyes than before? What is wrong with him? Just stay down. You don't have to get up anymore. You've exceeded everyone's expectations?

The beating went on for another 7 hours, nothing but Jaune getting up, and being thrown back onto the ground. Neo was both amazed and confused by the persistence that was Jaune. He probably had a broken rib, his mouth oozed blood, his face was pummeled in, he had a messed up leg, he was hurt in every way. Yet he still stood, getting up and facing Henry. Even Henry showed respect towards Jaune's persistence, just what is he?

The time was over, Neo had stopped it and knew this was more than enough. Jaune was limping back, his face full of bruises, his left leg barely able to support him, his arms dangling, he truly was in a mess. Neo didn't truly know what to say, if she could say anything. As they slowly walked down the road, Jaune finally collapsed, blacked out. Neo felt guilty for some reason, she was just going to turn him into the silent pawn that she wanted. So she didn't have to deal with the kindness that was so alien to her, but all she felt was a heavy guilt. The fire that was anger went away as she carried the rag doll that was Jaune.

As they reached the safe house, Neo slowly put his body on the bed. She used her aura to boost his healing, at least now he didn't have to worry about his broken rib. She just waited there, looking at his messed up face. He seemed like a weakling, nothing better than to serve whoever he was put under, yet he still got up. While he wasn't a saint, he still showed kindness to Neo, when all she did was push him off, like a pet insect.

Jaune slowly woked up after an hour, that whole hour Neo just sat there looking at his bruised and swollen face. He tried to speak but his throat must have been dry, knowing this Neo had prepared a glass of water. She raised his head helping him drink it, and showed him her scroll telling him that she was sorry, and how next time won't be as bad. Then she left the room, letting Jaune rest.

The next morning she got up early, prepared to do Roman's task. Grabbing her parasol she walked towards where the trouble making gang was located. Seeing the building she could tell they were amateurs. They must have been just a bunch of punks who got lucky in scoring a huge supply of dust. She easily unlocked the door and walked in, being silent even though she was wearing stilettos, a trick she was quite proud of.

Looking through a small crack in the door, she saw multiple men just playing cards. This should be easy enough, and like that she kicked the door in. The men were all shocked by the little girl jumping at them with her parasol. She kicked one of them in the head with the heel of her stiletto, and knocked another guy with her parasol. One of them tried to reach for his weapon but she quickly thrusted her parasol into his stomach, dropping him as well.

2 were able to run into another room. God damn it, I'm getting sloppy. She quickly gave chase, hearing them saying something. When she kicked open the door she was greeted with 20 men, all armed with weapons. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked around… This might be a problem.

They all took aim and fired rounds of dust at her. She used her parasol to block the bullets as she ran straight to the middle. Using one of the thug's head as a springboard, she jumped up and attacked the man in the middle who seemed to be the leader. Kicking him as she fell and grabbing his body as a shield, jumping over him and kicking the next guy next to him.

Using her semblance she made an illusion, using that she attacked another thug from behind. One of them noticed her though and shot, hitting his ally but also grazing Neo's right shoulder. She was confident in her fighting but they were all spread out which made it difficult for her to properly fight them. She was used to more one on one fights rather than a large number of people. Nevertheless she kept up her attack, going from one goon to the other. The numbers dwindled until it was only her left standing. Her clothes were bloodied, same with her parasol. She only got hit 2 times, both of which were minor injuries that would heal within an hour.

She sat down on some random bloke and called for the white fang to come and pick up the huge amounts of dust. When she actually saw their haul she understood why Roman wanted it. It was at least 12 large creates the size of her, filled with bottles of dust.

The white fang finally arrived and took care of both the dust and the remaining thugs that were alive. Neo was tired but she knew she had to take care of the Jaune situation. She walked back to the apartment, using her semblance it masked the few blood stains on her clothes. She opened to door to see Jaune waiting there with big eyes, don't look at me like that…

Neo walked to the bedroom only to be surprised when she saw it in such a clean state. She quickly looked over at Jaune and saw him scratching the back of his head as he explained how he cleaned it in his spare time… That dumb… Idiot. Closing the door she takes off her dirty clothes and looked at the neatly folded laundry…. Idiot.

She got ready and headed out without saying a word, or gesture. Jaune followed as they headed towards the training grounds.

Neo was less interested as Henry gave Jaune more pointers and softened his attacks. At this point Henry seemed to have some respect for Jaune, seeing as he still kept getting up. He was improving somewhat fast for his skill level which did interest Neo a bit, seeing him actually put a fight instead of being put down was more entertaining for her. The memories of last night still came to her as she looked at Jaune, maybe she was wrong…

It had gotten late, Neo wanted to go back to the safe house and Jaune seemed to be stumped on what to do next. It seems every attack of his has gotten countered in some way, but at least now he could attack in general. By the 300th time Jaune got knocked down, Neo decided it was about time to head back.

They headed towards the diner to get food for dinner. LeTasha seemed to be worried about Jaune but he was able to dial down by just giving some vague answers. The food eaten, they head back to the safe house. Neo going into her room and closing the door. She looked at her slightly bloody parasol and went ahead to clean it.

Laying down she noticed that the sheets were new. Looking to her right, she somewhat missed the small mountain of empty tubs of ice cream. Her clothes were still where Jaune left them, perfectly folded. A sigh came out of Neo as she thought of one thing… He's an idiot.

 **A/N: Holy moly 4,000 words. Like I said earlier, this chapter is probably some of the most messy things that I've ever wrote. Problem is I tried to put too much into the chapter I guess. I feel like I have a good idea of how I want Neo to be as a character but I keep on bringing up meaningless information, I wouldn't be surprised if this could get trimmed to 3,000 words. I do give a pat to myself for sticking with it though, even though I just poured a water bottle on a dumpster fire, I feel like I tried something and failed. Still gonna post the chapter simply because I want to see how everyone reacts to my mistakes. I've also been taking this whole thing really slow, there are still 4ish days till Jaune actually goes to Beacon. I can already tell that my pacing is abismall so I'm trying to work on it. Anyway, say whatever you want about this chapter, again sorry if it seems like a mess.**


	7. From Zero To Hero

Today was like before, Jaune had woken up and was immediately sent to the construction site. There he went and fought Henry once again. He attacked, got countered, and fell. The process was almost natural and Jaune couldn't help but start to think this would be the status quo. After getting pushed down the fifty-ish time, Henry walked towards Neo. Having no idea of what was happening, Neo texted Jaune. **Listen here, Henry thinks you should try fighting Jack**. Jaune didn't really know who Jack was, but figured it out once the small masked man stepped forward.

Jack's weapon of choice was a small dagger, it looked like it was made out of the same material as Henry's training sword so Jaune guessed it wasn't sharp. Getting up, he readied himself in a defensive stance. Jack dashed forward with high speed. Seeing him come, Jaune slashed his sword to the left. Jack leaped over it and threw his dagger at Jaune's head. Throwing his shield up, he blocked the attack but saw Jack land behind him. With a quick kick, Jaune stumbled forward. Jack grabbed his dagger that was on the ground and brought it to his neck. It was over in a flash.

Jaune let his arms dangle, showing that he gave up. While he could at least put up some sort of fight against Henry, he couldn't even manage to do a thing against Jack. Even when he went strictly on offense, he couldn't land a hit on Jack. For some reason, Jack knew exactly how to dodge any attack Jaune threw at him, when his legs were open, Jack would literally crawl through the gap between his legs while slashing at his thighs. It wasn't like a real blade, but it still hurt like shit.

"This is truly pathetic. You really have no talent at adapting to different fighting styles. It seems the only reason you can even stand against Henry is because he's pummeled his fighting style into your idiotic brain." The contrast between the two masked men were clear, while Henry tried to teach Jaune, it seemed like Jack would prefer to beat whatever lesson he wanted into him. Very few times did he ever say anything other than "adapt". Jaune just couldn't keep up with the man, he was just too fast. His movements were wild, and he relied solely on his acrobatics and speed to attack Jaune's openings. The fighting kept on going for another few hours before Jaune was out of breath, his body bruised and his knees buckling over. For some odd reason, Jack kept focusing on his legs, each hit slowly but surely made Jaune's movement crawl to an almost stop. Of course he was trying to protect his legs, but every time he tried to dodge, Jack would simply push his attack. Compared to Henry's all around beating, Jack's focus beating was much worse.

Jaune was out of it, he couldn't stand up at this point. Even when he tried to get up, his body would just fall over. No matter how hard he tried to get up, his legs just wouldn't let him. After 20 minutes of him struggling, Neo finally stepped in. She pushed Jack aside and bent down towards his legs, slowly healing him. With his legs somewhat restored, he got ready for another fight, but Jack stand downed.

"You fought hard, I'll acknowledge that." And like that, Jack threw his dagger at Jaune's foot, it's blade stuck in the ground. Was this a sign of respect? Before Jaune could say anything else, Neo grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the small gate. Crawling back through, Jaune could feel his stomach growl. Hearing this, Neo pointed in the direction of the usual diner.

LeTasha greeted them as they sat down. Jaune ordered another sandwich, this time it was chicken and coleslaw while Neo ordered her usual sundae. They sat once again in silence, Jaune still trying to soothe his sore legs and Neo was doing whatever on her scroll. The bubble was popped when LeTasha brought two plates of apple pie.

Before Jaune could say anything, LeTasha spoke, "Don't worry bout it sweetie. The two slices are on the house." And like that, she placed them and vanished in the back of the kitchen within 5 seconds. For an old lady like her, she sure could book it.

Jaune went ahead and started eating his apple pie, it was still warm which helped him feel at peace. Neo didn't seem to pay any attention to the pie, still looking at her scroll. Jaune nudged the plate towards her, finally breaking her attention, she was taken back a bit when she saw the apple pie. Looking up at Jaune with a questionable look, he just shrugged in response. While still a bit confused, she took a scoop of ice cream and placed it on the apple pie. Like that, the two went back to eating the apple pies without a single note towards each other.

With stomachs full, they both headed back to the safe house, with no idea what to do for the rest of the day. Jaune was nowhere near able to do training thanks to Jack but Neo didn't want to stay in that stupid apartment all day. Then a thought came to Neo as she started typing into her scroll. She pushed it into his face and Jaune looked shocked as to her idea. **I want to have you fight real Grimm.** The message told him clearly what she meant but he was still surprised by the random request. While his body was still sore, he could still fight to an extended degree. Maybe if Neo was watching over, they could figure something out. Seeing the little girl look up at him, he couldn't help but nod yes.

They had taken a bus towards the commercial district; the odd thing about it though was that the commercial district was the exact opposite of where any grimm would be. Getting off the bus, Jaune followed Neo as they kept passing warehouses.

Eventually they reached their destination, said destination was just another warehouse like the others. When they entered though, that was when everything clicked into place.

It was a fight club, and not just any fight club. It was a grimm fight club. They seemed to have caged low level grimm and used them to fight random other fighters. Most of the people there were masked men like Jack and Henry, but there were a few random faces here and there. There were mostly Beowolves and one Ursa, all of which were locked in heavy duty metal cages. In the center of the warehouse was an arena like cage. Inside was a random masked man and a Ursa.

The masked man charged at the Ursa with striking speed, smashing into it and sending it flying to the cage wall. It hit the ground but before it could get up, the man leaped at it and shoved his sword into its grimm had disappeared and the man had left the cage as people yelled. It was truly an amazing feat and Jaune couldn't stop but give the masked man respect. Neo's scroll went up to his face, **You're going to be fighting one of those. And don't lose because I'm betting on you winning.**

Without warning Neo pushed Jaune closer to the cage. Men were looking at him with weird gazes but when they saw he was carrying a sword, they cheered, happy to see another person stand and fight the grimm. A man in a suit started calling up bets as Jaune was standing awkwardly in the cage.

"200 turquoise Lien on the Beowolf!"

"150 turquoise Lien on that kid getting killed within the first 30 seconds!"

"50 blue Lien on the kid surviving!"

With all their bets placed, Jaune looked as the cage holding the grimm slowly rise.

Shit.

It was all that could go through Jaune's head. So far he has been fighting people, not grimm. Even when he was training at home, he never once encountered a grimm ever in his life. Sure he had read a book about them but that was the most, and now he had to fight one for his life. He couldn't move as the gates slowly opened. His sword was shaking as he raised it towards the beast.

"Look at that brat! He can't even face a Beowolf!"

"Damn, maybe he really will die!"

"Looks like imma getting beer money today!"

While the comments were hard to hear, Jaune could still get a few bits here and there as the crowd started losing whatever hope they had for him to win.

Then he saw Neo, just staring at him with determined eyes. As he saw her brown and pink eyes stare at him something weird filled his chest. It was odd but it made him feel calm. He slowled his breath and eyed down the monster. Getting his shield ready and into a defensive stance, he waited for its next move.

The Beowolf jumped at Jaune, it's claws going straight towards his head. Raising his shield he blocked the attack but the impact still vibrated through his arm. Before he could counter attack though, another swipe came from his left. Recognizing that attack from Henry, Jaune instinctively jumped back and countered with a quick slash, mirroring the Beowolf's attack. With a clean strike, he had cut off the monster's arm. It jumped back as it held onto its stump, with a loud cry it started to shake.

Slowly backing away the Beowolf seemed to try and figure out its next move, the same for Jaune as well. Before the grimm could figure out Jaune decided to go on the offensive, charging shield first towards the Beowolf.

With all his strength into the charge, he had knocked the Beowolf into the cage wall. Remembering what the previous fighter did, he leaped and shoved his sword into its head. The Beowolf went limp as it slowly dissolved into nothing. Once he had properly gotten up an uproar came about. Some men were holding their heads in defeat while others were surprised by the quick comeback.

Neo smiled as she saw Jaune look around with stars in his eyes. He had killed his first grimm, by himself, all him. He was filled with different emotions as he thought about what he did. He could finally see himself as a real hunter. So what if he originally failed, he killed a grimm. That alone gave him the confidence as he walked out of the cage.

He met up with Neo soon, she seemed to have a proud face on her. His scroll vibrated and read, **I knew you could do it ya idiot. I have to thank you for making me some nice Lien. Maybe i'll treat you to some ice cream.** The message gave Jaune even more confidence as he blushed and scratched his head with a full smile.

"I only killed one, but just you wait! I'm gonna become a real hunter!" He couldn't stop smiling as they walked out the warehouse. Leaving the noisy fight club and into the calm and silent district.

Their walk back was as silent as the river that they were walking beside. Neo seemed to be in a happy state with her looking at her scroll again. Jaune felt like he might as well thank Neo for giving him courage. He extended his hand onto her shoulder, with her stopping dead in her tracks. She turned her head to see Jaune eye to eye.

"Uh… Neo… I just wanted to say thanks." She raised her eyebrow as she wondered what he meant. "When I was about to fight the Beowolf. I sort've frozed. I didn't know what to do. I can't really explain but… When I looked at your eyes… You kinda gave me courage or something." This was embarrassing for both Jaune and Neo. He went with his usual pose as he scratched the back of his head, "I just wanted to say thanks and all."

Neo had nodded and turned her head back towards her scroll. After saying all of that, he couldn't help but feel some blood reach his cheek. Did he really just say all that in front of a girl? Especially Neo? He was hitting himself in his brain as he regret his words. Neo on the other hand seemed to blankly look at her scroll, her mind in another world.

 **A/N: So this one is a lot shorter than the previous. I guess I'm already getting writers withdrawal since my pacing has dropped to nothing. I feel like this chapter was missing something, or it just feels unprofessional. Oh, I might try out a Gravity Falls series later on, and if I do then chapters will come out even less… Which is kinda sad. Anyway, see you next time.**


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